A survey conducted by consumer comparison site onecompare.com has revealed that telephone staff at the major networks don't actually know what they're talking about, with O2 coming bottom in everything.
Each of the six major network operators were contacted by a mystery shopper 100 times each throughout January and February, and asked five basic questions including when off and on peak hours start and finish, and roaming details.
Virgin Mobile staff were the most accurate, closely followed by workers at 3, T-Mobile, Orange and Vodafone.
O2, however, came bottom of the list with staff answering questions about international call charges wrongly or not at all in 35% of cases. O2 also came last when ranked for phone manner.
OneCompare.com director Anthony Ball said: "The report simply highlights the inadequacies of most mobile phone networks across all investigated areas. Hopefully the standard will only get better across the board which in turn will benefit the consumer."
An O2 spokesman said the firm was "surprised" at OneCompare's findings.
"We will be studying their results as it contradicts the independent recognition we have been receiving for the quality of customer service we deliver," he said. "We continue to invest heavily in making sure that our customers receive the best possible service which includes the recent opening of our fourth UK customer services centre in Glasgow."
Most knowledgeable staff
Virgin
Three
T-Mobile
Orange
Vodafone
O2
Best phone manner
Orange
Three
Vodafone
T-Mobile
Virgin
O2
Accuracy of roaming information
Vodafone
Orange
T-Mobile
Three
Virgin
O2
Virgin Mobile staff were the most accurate, closely followed by workers at 3, T-Mobile, Orange and Vodafone.
O2, however, came bottom of the list with staff answering questions about international call charges wrongly or not at all in 35% of cases. O2 also came last when ranked for phone manner.
OneCompare.com director Anthony Ball said: "The report simply highlights the inadequacies of most mobile phone networks across all investigated areas. Hopefully the standard will only get better across the board which in turn will benefit the consumer."
An O2 spokesman said the firm was "surprised" at OneCompare's findings.
"We will be studying their results as it contradicts the independent recognition we have been receiving for the quality of customer service we deliver," he said. "We continue to invest heavily in making sure that our customers receive the best possible service which includes the recent opening of our fourth UK customer services centre in Glasgow."
Most knowledgeable staff
Virgin
Three
T-Mobile
Orange
Vodafone
O2
Best phone manner
Orange
Three
Vodafone
T-Mobile
Virgin
O2
Accuracy of roaming information
Vodafone
Orange
T-Mobile
Three
Virgin
O2